Egypt. Inside the Great Pyramid
Constructed during the 3rd millennium BC, the Pyramids of Giza are testaments to ancient ingenuity and human will. Because of their colossal size and durability, they are the only surviving of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. What purpose would unite tens of thousands of Egyptians to construct such massive stone monuments? The answer is a belief that the pharaoh (aka king) was a conduit between the living and the world of gods. Since the pharaoh’s spirit remained with his body after death, burial chambers inside the pyramids were designed to protect his mummified remains and store items needed in the afterlife such as jewelry, food, clothing, and furniture.
The Pyramids of Giza were constructed near ancient Memphis (modern Cairo) and on the west side of the Nile River because of a belief that the dead would enter the afterlife in the direction of the setting sun. In building the pyramids, sandstone from Giza and limestone from the Nile’s east bank was cut and shaped using drills, saws, and chisels while sleds were used to transport the gigantic stone blocks. The blocks were then moved up ramps and arranged with the largest at the base and progressively smaller blocks used at higher levels. Most Egyptologists believe that the pyramids were built by paid craftsmen and laborers rather than slaves.
We took a cab for the 15-kilometer ride from our hotel to a parking area near Giza’s three main pyramids. The largest is the Great Pyramid (aka Cheops), tomb of Pharoah Khufu who ruled during Egypt’s 4th Dynasty (2575 BC - 2465 BC). Measuring 137 meters tall (the height of a 40-story building), the Great Pyramid was the world’s tallest man-made structure for more than 3,800 years. Estimates suggest that 2.3 million blocks were used in its construction. Inside, are three large rooms: the King’s Chamber, Queen’s Chamber, and an opening cut into bedrock below the surface.
Positioned along a line stretching southwest, Giza’s second large pyramid is Khafre, named for Khufu’s son and heir. Khafre can be distinguished by a few limestone casing stones that remain near the structure’s top. Lower casing stones were removed in the 3rd millennium BC to build a temple dedicated to Helipolis. Opened in 1818, Khafre’s burial chamber was empty (grave robbers?) except for an open stone sarcophagus. Mekaure is the third and smallest in the line of pyramids. In 1196 AD, Sultan Al-Aziz commissioned workers to destroy the pyramids beginning with Mekaure. After eight months, Al-Aziz’s workers were successful in removing only one or two of the massive stone blocks each day, so the project was abandoned.
A separate ticket was needed to go inside the Great Pyramid. We entered through Robber’s Tunnel, on the pyramid’s north side. Photography is prohibited inside, so we paid a local to hold our cameras. Sloping upward, the tunnel wasn’t well ventilated, but lighting, steps, and handrails made our journey a little easier. We first passed the Queen’s Chamber. Walking in a single file line, it took about 20 minutes to walk through the Grand Gallery before reaching the King’s Chamber. Inside were smooth granite walls and a single (empty) sarcophagus made from red-colored stone. According to legend, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte visited the Great Pyramid during his Nile expedition in 1798. For unknown reasons he decided to spend a night alone in Khufu’s burial chamber. Pale and shaken when he emerged the next morning, Napolean refused to talk about what had happened during the night.
Back outside, we visited pits holding wooden boats intended to be used by the Pharoah in the afterlife. Using planks and other parts found in one pit, archeologists reconstructed a riverboat that is now displayed within a nearby building. We also walked through portions of the mortuary temple. Mortuary temples were places to worship the dead pharaoh and leave food or other offerings. Before departing, we stopped to photograph the Great Sphinx, positioned on the east side of the pyramid complex. Built to protect the pyramids, the Sphinx was a mythical animal with the body of a lion and the head of a human. Measuring 73 meters long and 20 meters high, it is the oldest known monument in Egypt (constructed between 2558 and 2532 BC).
